Energy weapons aren't some science fiction fantasy. On the stage of international politics, the end of an oil or gas pipeline can wield just as much power as the end of a gun.

The United States has our military alliances, but it is time to start building energy alliances as well. After all, Vladimir Putin is just getting started on his. Russia's state-owned energy company Gazprom took total control of Kyrgyzstan's natural gas resources on Friday. This acquisition includes all of the infrastructure: pipelines, distribution stations, storage facilities.

The central Asian nation isn't a particularly large gas producer, and its nationalized gas industry was heavily in debt, but all of its potential is now held by Russia. So if Putin is trying to build an energy army, this was an easy purchase.

President Barack Obama, on the other hand, still hesitates to make his easy decision and approve the Keystone XL pipeline connection with Canada. Instead of reaching out to cooperate with our neighbors to the north and south, Obama has kept our energy policy on an isolationist footing. All the while, according to a recent report from the Energy Information Administration, Houston is backed up with more crude oil than we can handle.

But while the U.S. produces record amounts of oil and gas, our allies across the world have to empty their treasuries for Middle East despots and oligarchs who yearn for the return of the Soviet Union. We need to offer an alternative.

The battle over energy will be a long one, and the president needs to set our nation's energy production on a war footing. This three-pronged strategy consists of reduced consumption, increased reliance on renewable resources and better development of oil and gas. While Obama has pushed for the first two, he's ignored the third. We shouldn't have to wait for a new president to show our energy allies that the United States stands with them.